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Tuesday, October 11, 2011

A Sundae Lost & Giveaway! (guest post by author Heather Muzik)

I guess the problem started long ago…. You see, I have
always loved miniature things. My good friend Sam would tell me that I have the
“little disease.” When I was young, I collected Strawberry Shortcake dolls.
Herself the Elf? Had her too. Oh, and those 80’s fashion dolls, Glamour Gals,
that were like tiny mutant Barbies—loved them! Teensy shoes, wee wardrobes,
bitty brushes—I even had a palm-size baby doll. I had so many wonderful mini
childhood treasures... and that brings me to the crux of the matter: a tiny
doll named Caramellie and her little sundae-shaped house. My favorite toy ever and the impetus for Cat’s riotous
adventure in 2 Days ‘Til Sundae.

I am certainly not Catherine, but she is a part of me—the
part that has a sentimental streak a mile wide and a penchant for the dramatic.
And like her, I know how it feels to lose what you thought was safely stored
away. When I graduated from high school and left home for college, I didn’t
realize that I would never go back to Jersey, so I left many things behind. I
hopped a plane to GA with the clothes on my back and a couple of suitcases in
baggage and shipped the rest of what I truly needed through UPS. I was eighteen
at the time, living in a dorm; I couldn’t bring along my younger self and all
her collections! And then I was married and living in a tiny apartment; I
didn’t have room for all those memories! But by the time we moved into a real
house, with an attic and extra rooms, it was already too late. It turns out
that one person’s treasure is actually another person’s trash—sounds a lot less
hopeful and promising that way, doesn’t it?

So I can relate to Catherine’s plight. And further, I can
certainly attest to getting the occasional post-auction crazies when someone
snags a win out of my clutches in the last seconds, although as of this point I
have never actually hopped a plane to claim what I feel is rightfully mine…. In
that respect I have to envy Cat’s guts and gumption, and I sure enjoyed going
along for the ride.

To be fair to my parents, even though many of my treasures
are still MIA to this day, how can I hold a grudge when 2 Days was born out of that loss?
Besides, it turns out that my Caramellie has finally been accounted for.
It seems she’s been “homeless” and naked (probably since the 80’s—it was a wild
time), living in a box (a Herself the Elf box) with several other tiny misfit
dolls. She deserves better.

Now I find myself closer to Cat than ever, trolling the
antiques and garage sale circuits and searching eBay late at night, in hopes of
finding a new or used sundae house. Meanwhile Caramellie waits patiently in a
place of honor on a bookshelf in my office, reminding me that sometimes a story
can come from the most unlikely of places…. And that “little disease” I
mentioned earlier? That is alive and
well and manifests itself in a quasi-obsession with Christmas ornaments. ;-)

Heather has generously agreed to giveaway a signed copy of 2 Days til Sundae here on Family, Scrapbooks and Coffee!! The contest opens today and closes 10/17/11 at 11:59 p.m. The winner will be chosen on 10/18/11 via Random.org and the winner notified that day via email.

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96 comments:

I loved reading this. Just beautiful and it brought up some of my own feelings of my things that are no longer around and the need of my own children to keep their own collections that are tresures to them but can be seen as just junk to me! Thank you, great guest post!!

I agree! Great guest post! I think we all left stuff "behind" that was important to us - - and we always thought we could come back later... stopping by from VB - have a great week!!!carla :)Mrs. No-No Knows

Thank you so much for the blog comment. I am FREAKING OUT. I have been on the same search for a doll from this collection. I loved these dolls and had one that lived in a Oreo. I loved it so much, I Stumbled the blog.

The last book I read was "The 5 People you meet in Heaven". I've tried getting thru a couple more, but never seem to make it! This book sounds like me..I'm a keeper of treasures! My poor girls when I cross over! LOL

The last book I read was actually one that my mom shipped to me from a box of books she saved from my childhood and my son LOVES it. It is called "Splish, Splash and Splush". I think it may have even been my mom's! Thanks for the visit at Mental Chew!

Great post. I have lost quite a few memories when my mom sent my stuff to goodwill. I didn't mind until now that I have kids and they seem to want some of the same stuff my brother and I had growing up.

Great post. I have lost quite a few memories when my mom sent my stuff to goodwill. I didn't mind until now that I have kids and they seem to want some of the same stuff my brother and I had growing up.

I loved reading all the posts! So glad that I am not alone in my love for childhood treasures! Living in a house full of men (or budding men) I sometimes feel like I am! My sons are growing up so fast and when they grow out of their toys they seem to get rid of them with ease (too much ease). I find myself covertly storing some of their old things in the attic because even though I know that Bakugan and Transformers might be totally uncool to them now... someday I am certain they will want to be reminded of who they once were.

Oh, and the last book I read? Year of Wonders--a novel of the plague. Love historical fiction!